


Beneath the Charles

by Starren_Moonstone



Series: Collections from The Journalist - Whumptober Edition [13]
Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Breathe in breathe out, Drowning, Gen, Slight Paranoia, Whumptober 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:28:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26990644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starren_Moonstone/pseuds/Starren_Moonstone
Summary: Wyatt has an encounter in the middle of the forest.
Series: Collections from The Journalist - Whumptober Edition [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1947499





	Beneath the Charles

**Author's Note:**

> Whumptober Day 13: "Breathe In, Breathe Out" - literal drowning (yeah, the prompts for this day didn't inspire me as much as the title so I went with that.

December 12th, 2010

There is a secret sort of path to the local mall that the Haywood kids used to use all the time. It’s through the forest, and over the Charles river, but it’s a lot quicker and more exciting than waiting for their parents to drive them over there. The path was safe enough, so long as they watched their footing and went slow on the bridge over the river. It certainly wasn’t an official thing, and Taelyn had slipped in there more than once, but no real harm ever came to the three Haywood kids. The river wasn’t as perilous as the ocean can be, and they all knew how to swim well.

Over the past several years, Wyatt had gotten into the habit of petty shoplifting. Never anything major: cheap chap-stick, a Wonderball, those colorful shiny rocks that natural museums have. He wasn’t in it for the items themselves; he did it for the thrill of just doing so. He used to just do it back in their hometown of Truro, with the local shops there because it was fun (though Taelyn would make sure he returned the stuff). When they moved to Watertown, Wyatt had avoided his favorite past time. Bigger place, bigger punishments. However, with Taelyn gone… well, he needed something fun to do.

Today’s shoplifted item is a hand-sized metallic lunch-box filled with food shaped erasers. It was in a prime location, and everyone was busy with more important sales, considering it was the holiday season. The snow crunched under his feet as he ran through the path. He was lucky it was snowing, just in case someone tried to track him down. But really, who cared about something so small?

Wyatt stops once he is sufficiently deep into the forest. The snow makes the whole world quiet… it makes him uncomfortable. Alone, with no people around. 

Wyatt digs in his pocket for his newfound treasure, trying to put away his discomfort, and notices something else in his pocket. It’s a bracelet made of magnets, made with earthy tones as well as some blue colored beads. This is a trinket he found some time ago, when he, his siblings, and his cousins decided to go into a forest out in Vermont to explore. They found a bunch of different things out there, and everyone got something. Wyatt had originally thought that he put this bracelet in his bedside table. Apparently not. He puts it on, and starts walking back home again.

At some point, Wyatt feels a presence in the forest that is not him. There is no wildlife around, and the feeling of not being alone only deepens. Wyatt takes off running again, just as he reaches the Charles river, and over the makeshift bridge. He has been on it so many times, he could walk it blindfolded. If only it wasn’t winter…

Wyatt slips on the bridge, part of it being frozen from the cold. Without anything to grab hold onto, Wyatt falls into the river and gets swept by the sudden current. Odd… that has never happened before. Usually the river is calm and nearly still. Wyatt tries to get his head over the water for a breath, but something keeps dragging him down into the depths below. The water presses in all around Wyatt as he struggles to hold his breath. 

_Too close… too close… I can’t breath…_

Wyatt had always been the kind of guy who would rather be smothered to death than left alone. His siblings always made jokes about how he could get lost in a pillow pile and be absolutely alright. And for the most part, the two of them weren’t wrong. There was always the slight fear of not getting out, of being trapped forever being weighed down to the ground. But… he never thought it was a bad way to go. Certainly better than… Whatever took Taelyn. Disappearing into fog, fizzling away from existence. Anything to not be alone. Anything to feel surrounded in his final moments.

It occurs to Wyatt that he can move around in the water freely again. He swims up to the surface, and takes a deep breath. It feels good, to have air in his lungs, but they are not screaming in pain. Wyatt closes his mouth, and doesn’t breathe for a long moment and realizes he doesn’t need to breathe. Or… he can hold his breath for a very long time now. Helpful, but weird. Wyatt makes his way to the shore, and looks around again. No one in sight… alone again. 

However, as he makes his way home, something tugs down his heart that certainly wasn’t there before. Something pressing against it on all sides. He should be scared for his health, but for some reason… it feels… right.

**Author's Note:**

> If you like what you read and want to learn more and keep up with this content, I have a tumblr set up. beholdingwriter.tumblr.com I'll be posting up the stories on there, as well as answering questions about the characters involved in this collection of stories.


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